Thursday, April 2, 2009

Gillispie's commitments ...

"Wormer ... dead."

"Marmalard ... dead."

"Niedermeyer ... "

OK, forgive the "Animal House" reference, but that is what came to mind when I started thinking at how Kentucky will deal with all those future Billy Gillispie-ites. One by one, Gillispie's commitments figure to be relieved of their obligations as John Calipari settles in as Kentucky's new basketball coach.

Already, they're dropping like flies, and not unlike Dean Wormer and the Omega House snobs.

Texas guard G.J. Vilarino has "re-opened his recruitment," in the current parlance. So have junior college guard Konner Tucker and guard K.C. Ross-Miller. Now comes word that Dakotah Euton and Michael Avery, the California kid that committed to UK as an eighth-grader, have followed suit after seeing the handwriting on the wall.

No word on whether or not Vinny Zollo, who plays at Clark County (within a 30-minute drive of UK's campus) is scratched off the list, too. The same goes for Dominique Ferguson, a guard from Indianapolis.

I'll confess that I haven't seen Zollo play, although at the Sweet 16 someone that knows UK's program well thinks he could still have a future with the 'Cats. Even Calipari's dribble-drive offense can use a good back-to-the-basket player on occasion, and Zollo — a 6-9 sophomore that averaged 12 points and seven rebounds per game after moving in from Ohio to be closer to Lexington — has enough potential for Calipari to approach his recruitment with an open mind.

Euton, the former Rose Hill Christian star whose departure started a mass exodus to Scott County last spring (two of his Rose Hill teammates ended up there as well), had a questionable future at best with UK. He hasn't shown that kind of potential in two visits to Marshall County's Hoop Fest, and not many other knowledgable fans see it in their travels across the state, either.

A 6-8 junior, Euton is cast as a wing player. For him to succeed, he has to be a Dan Langhi-type product at the college level, but at the moment, he's a couple of inches shorter and lacking Langhi's mobility and ability to handle the basketball. He is a fair outside shooter, but his lack of athleticism figures to be a big problem for him on the defensive end.

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